An inspection is set to take place at Safari Zoo Cumbria after animal welfare concerns were raised by the campaign group Born Free. The group reported issues including a lack of shade, dirty water, and inadequate hoof care for animals in the zoo's African area.
Born Free, which advocates for keeping animals in the wild, said its representatives visited the zoo in Dalton-in-Furness on 17 October following multiple public reports. The group stated that the zoo fails to meet basic standards of animal welfare and visitor safety in several respects.
Zoo management, under Cumbria Zoo Company, denied all allegations, calling the report inaccurate and based on presumptions. Samantha Brewer, representing the zoo, said they refute the claims and noted that the zoo has undergone over 35 government inspections in the past four years with overwhelmingly positive outcomes.
Barrow Council confirmed that a joint inspection with a government zoo inspector from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will take place in November. A council spokesman said the claims will be fully investigated, though availability issues with the inspector delayed the visit.
The zoo, which has had a chequered history including a fatal tiger incident in 2013, has been under new management since 2017. Its licence was renewed for six years in 2021 with additional conditions, and a February inspection found no welfare issues but required drainage repairs in the Africa paddock by year-end.
